Sappony

The Sappony Indians are a small tribe of 850 people based in the High Plains of Person County, North Carolina and Halifax County, Virginia.

The Sappony tribal center is near the ancestral trading path that they have used since the 1670s. See this website for a timeline of the tribe’s history or visit the Native American exhibit at the Person County Museum of History. For several decades the Sappony were key middlemen in the fur trade between the colony of Virginia and their cousin tribe the Catawba in South Carolina. The ancestors of the Sappony currently living in High Plains remained behind in their homelands while others went north to join the Iroquois in New York or south to join the Catawba.

The Sappony were legislatively recognized by the state of North Carolina in 1911 and by the state of Virginia in 1913. The Sappony tribal center is in Christie, Virginia, just a stone’s throw from the North Carolina line. Many tribal events are also hosted in Person County, NC at Calvary Baptist Church. Nearby is Lake Mayo, where there is also now a park and heritage summer camp for Sappony youth